Dickinson's Preseason Community Service Tradition

Although the start of the spring season is still a few weeks
away, the Dickinson men's lacrosse team already has posted a
winning record. The team recently returned from Baltimore, where
members spent the last week of winter break collectively logging
nearly 2,000 hours of community service for a local nonprofit
organization.

Head coach Dave Webster '88 says community service presents
unmatched team-building and learning opportunities for his
players.

"You can't replicate what we do over the course of one week in
any other way," he says. "We certainly gave a lot in terms of
effort and hard work; however, we received much more in terms of
lessons learned and a new perspective of that community and the
wonderful folks who work and live there."

Second chance

Webster has organized a weeklong preseason service trip every
other year since 2006, when the team traveled to hurricane-ravaged
New Orleans. This year, the team was paired with Second Chance, an
organization that reclaims and sells building materials and
provides jobs for unemployed and displaced workers.

For Second Chance, the team's arrival came at a critical time.
The organization is relocating, and all donated contents of its
165,000-square-foot warehouse must go to the new space.

Team co-captain Sam Abramson '12 recalls the week.

"They had a huge number of items that needed to be moved and
organized— kitchenware, washers and dryers, plywood,
clothing, dressers and everything imaginable in between," he says.
"Another major activity was breaking down an entire basketball
court floor so that Second Chance could bundle and sell the wood.
This took about two days of nonstop work and was one of our
significant accomplishments of the week."

Abramson, an international business & management (IB&M)
major from Alexandria, Va., says the work helped team members
cement bonds not only with each other, but with Second Chance
workers.

"We were able to form meaningful relationships with many of the
employees," he says. "They were genuinely interested in us and
loved having us around, and we loved talking with them about their
experiences and life in general."

A Baltimore-area executive and entrepreneur who co-founded
GiveCorps, an organization that promotes philanthropy by connecting
organizations and donors, McDonald was familiar with Second
Chance's mission and thought the organization would benefit from
the team's help.

"Being engaged in the community is a huge part of my life," says
McDonald. "I'm so impressed that Dickinson fosters it. This is the
launch of the 2012 season and to start it off this way says a lot
about the priorities of the program."

Team fusion

Dickinson, which is ranked third in the country, starts their
season at home against Lycoming College on Feb. 22. Gruppo says the
team is bonded and ready for the season, thanks in part to the week
they spent together volunteering for Second Chance.

"The team bonding that occurs on this trip is most evident
through the class fusion. By the end of the week, it is nearly
impossible to tell the difference between a senior and a freshman,"
he says. "This is something that Dickinson lacrosse takes great
pride in and we feel that it is a huge advantage to have a united
group."